Feast of the Ascension

Feast of the Ascension
Christi Himmelfahrt by Gebhard Fugel, c. 1893
Also calledAscension Day
Ascension Thursday
Holy Thursday
Observed byCatholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Moravians, Methodists, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox
TypeChristian
SignificanceCommemorates the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven
ObservancesService of Worship / Mass
Date39 days after Easter
2023 date
  • May 18 (Western)
  • May 25 (Eastern)
2024 date
  • May 9 (Western)
  • June 13 (Eastern)
2025 date
  • May 29 (Western)
  • May 29 (Eastern)
2026 date
  • May 14 (Western)
  • May 21 (Eastern)
Frequencyannual
Related toEaster, Pentecost

The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ[1] (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday[2][3]) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (shared by multiple denominations) feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion and Pentecost. Following the account of Acts 1:3 that the risen Jesus appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter according to inclusive counting, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday, sometimes called Ascension Sunday. The day of observance varies by ecclesiastical province in many Christian denominations, as with Methodists and Catholics, for example.

Ascensiontide refers to the ten-day period between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost.[4] The Sunday within that period may be referred to as the Seventh Sunday of Easter or the Sunday in Ascensiontide.[5]

  1. ^ "Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ". Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2015. The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date of the Feast of the Ascension changes. The Feast is always celebrated on a Thursday.
  2. ^ Thomas Ignatius M. Forster (1828). Circle of the Seasons, and Perpetual key to the Calendar and Almanack. Oxford University Press. p. 377. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Holy Thursday or Ascension Day. Festum Ascensionis. Le Jeudi Saint d' Ascension.
  3. ^ George Soane (1847). New Curiosities of Literature and Book of the Months. Churton. p. 275. Retrieved 1 April 2012. Ascension Day, or Holy Thursday. This, as the name sufficiently implies, is the anniversary of Christ's Ascension.
  4. ^ St Joseph's Catholic Church, Derby, Ascensiontide Archived 2023-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, published 14 May 2021, accessed 14 January 2023
  5. ^ Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (1999), Methodist Worship Book, p. 580

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